Tensai
by Zaknafein
Summary: RanmaSlam Dunk Crossover. From the beginning, Ranma decides that he does not like the Tendo family. Due to this, he searches for something to keep him away from their compound. He finds basketball. Ch4 Teaser Added.
1. Chapter 01

Tensai

A Ranma One Half & Slam Dunk Crossover Story  
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma, nor do I own Slam Dunk.  
This story takes place at the beginning of the Ranma manga and the year before the slam dunk manga.

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--------------------Chapter 01

As had become his custom, Ranma reclined upon the slate tile roof of the Tendo dojo. This afforded the young man a spectacular view of the night sky, and allowed him to calmly analyse the dilemma he now faced. He was finding it difficult to adjust to the changes that had occurred in such a short amount of time.  
  
He had spent the majority of his life in the wilderness with his father, something that few could really appreciate. Subsequently, Ranma found it very difficult to relate to anyone of his own age. He had made no secret of this fact; however the people he was living with certainly didn't seem to care.  
  
The minute the youngest daughter, Akane, caught sight of him the insults would start, pervert, idiot, no matter what he did, it was never right, though she certainly wouldn't tell him what the hell he was doing wrong.  
  
It was so frustrating!  
  
The middle daughter was similar in that she seemed to look down upon him, as though he was beneath her, not worthy of her time, He should not be surprised though, since from his first few days at school the girl seemed to treat everyone this way, not that it mattered, she would eventually get her due, people such as that always did. Finally, the oldest, Kasumi, just seemed to ignore him.  
  
Thus it could be understood that he found himself feeling very uncomfortable within the boundaries of this house.  
  
He had decided that he needed to find something to occupy his time in the afternoons. Normally, he would just practice the martial arts, but that didn't give him an excuse to leave the house. He was too young to get a job, and wasn't really one for reading. So, the only option left to him was to join a club at Furinkan that he thought he could enjoy.  
  
Hopefully, this would provide him with ample opportunity to stay away from the dojo and its residents, as the only time he would be here would be during the weekends and after dinner each night. Resolved to this course of action, Ranma swung down off the edge of the roof and flipped into his room to go to sleep for the night.

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The next morning he awoke flying through the air, having been thrown out the window by his stupid panda of a father. After the standard morning spar in which his father ended up in the pond, and a great breakfast courtesy of Kasumi, Ranma was off early to school to find out what sort of clubs Furinken high provided to the student body.  
  
Checking the listing on the main notice board, he found a surprisingly large amount of choices, although, after seeing the boys after Akane on the first day that shouldn't be surprising. Mentally checking off all the martial art's clubs, he scanned those left and immediately two seemed to jump out at him, soccer and basketball. He could remember seeing the two games occasionally on television during the training trip and thinking that they looked pretty cool.  
  
Out of the two of them he decided to go with basketball, as it seemed to be the most physically demanding of the two. After checking where the club meeting was held he headed off to class for the day.  
  
During gym that afternoon Ranma decided that he should at least know the basics of the game before confronting the club with his bid to join, so he headed over to the instructor and asked about the sport.  
  
Only to happy to comply, the teacher, Mr. Nakumura, proceeded to tell him what he knew about the game. When the teacher brought up the need for shoes, Ranma grew worried, as he could never afford them. Luckily for him, as soon as he voiced his concern Mr. Nakumura told him that the club members were provided with shoes as they had yet to even qualify for participation in the district tournament.  
  
In the schools entire history!  
  
And thus the money normally used for travel, had been used to pay for shoes and anything else they wanted. The two of them continued the discussion for the duration of the class, and Ranma became more and more interested over time.  
  
  
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After school that afternoon, Ranma made his way over to the gym to introduce himself to the team. He paused before the entrance, suddenly nervous; introductions had never gone well for him before, Ryoga, the amazons, the tendo's, they had all been disasters. Hopefully this one would go smoothly, firming his resolve, and taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door. And was surprised, there was only five students in the club, and they all looked older than him. He had thought that there would be more.  
  
They were standing in a rough semicircle, passing three balls between each other. Making his way over to the five he introduced himself. "Hi, my name is Ranma Saotome, and I'm interested in joining the club". Judging by the groups expressions, unanimously surprised, this was highly unexpected. The largest of them, a guy ranma thought looked old enough to be a teacher himself, spoke." I thought you would join one of the martial arts clubs after that display you put up against Kuno, not that I am one to complain. You are welcome to join the club, my names Kenji Furosawa, I play centre position on the team as you can probably tell from my height ", he motions to the others then, and they introduce themselves as well.  
  
The first was around 6 feet 4 inches tall (195cm), and wore a Chicago bulls uniform, with dyed blond hair in a crew cut introduces himself as Jin Hanabusa, power forward.  
  
The second stood 6 feet tall (183cm), had scruffy brown hair and glasses, and was wearing the school gym uniform introduced himself as Daisuke Tenoh, point guard.  
  
The third, standing 6 feet 2 inches tall, in an LA lakers uniform, with spiky black hair introduces himself as Akira Mitsuba, shooting guard.  
  
The fourth and final one stood 6 feet 3 inches tall (192cm), wore a rebel sport singlet and Reebok shorts, introduced himself as Kyo Hakubi, power forward.  
  
Kenji continued once they were done, "We meet here every afternoon after class, and stay for a long as we can, this usually ends up at about two hours. You can stay longer if you want to though." He smirks here, as if he has some idea of why Ranma would like to join.  
  
Ranma thinks he could come to like this guy, "Thanks, that's great."  
  
Kenji motions him to get on the end of the semi-circle, and they begin to pass the balls again. "So, do you know anything about the game, or is it still pretty much a mystery to you?"  
  
Ranma pauses a moment here, to hold the ball in place. "Well you see, I don't have any knowledge, heh heh, I just thought that it looked pretty cool."  
  
Kenji laughs at this and says, " Not to worry, none of us are exactly spectacular, we couldn't even qualify for the regional tournament, and we don't have a coach, however we'll be happy to show you the basics of the game. We've got the rest of the year to improve so we can qualify next year "  
  
They finished the passing exercise here, so Kenji took Ranma aside and taught him all of the rules of the game, Scoring, Timing, Ball In Play, Shot Clock, Out Of Bounds, Free Throws, Violations, Goaltending, Fouls. All the while showing Ranma the appropriate areas of the court.  
  
They had finished this after around an hour, so Kenji decided to show him the basics of dribbling. By the end of the two-hour session Ranma still wasn't having much luck, despite this he was enjoying the challenge of it.  
  
Kenji motioned Ranma and the others over to him, "That's it for today guys, I have to be home in an hour to help dad at the restaurant, pack it up."

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As Ranma was walking out the door he noticed someone tap him on the back, spinning around, he was confronted with a smiling Kenji. Handing Ranma a basketball Kenji says, "Here, you can have this to practice with, there is plenty to spare, I also wanted to ask if you would like to come and see a match with me on Friday, two of the top teams of the interschool league are playing. Teams we will have to play when we qualify next year".  
  
Excited at finally having some friends Ranma readily agrees, "Sure that would be great, thanks again for the ball, I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
On his way home Ranma was faced with the dilemma of how he could possibly practice anywhere at the dojo.  
  
It would be impossible!  
  
He decided to look around the area to see if there was anything available. Around two blocks from the back of doctor Tofu's office he found a large park with a basketball court, the garish sign at the entrance proclaimed it Nerima Park.  
  
Original or what?  
  
Even so, he was just happy to have found a place to train. He decides that since he doesn't really need to return to the dojo before dinner, two hours away, he could get in some more practice. He started with the dribbling drill that Kenji had shown him that afternoon. By now, he could keep the ball under control so long as he did not move.  
  
After around an hour he could keep control of the ball walking around the court. Half an hour after that he could keep control while running from one end of the court to the other around fifty percent of the time. That is, so long as he didn't try anything fancy, like bouncing it between his legs, the one attempt had left him flat on his face. Satisfied with his effort for the day, he headed home to face the inevitable questioning from a group of people he was beginning to dislike more each day, his father chief amongst them.  
  
After much badgering from Genma and both verbal and physical abuse from Akane he got up and told them that from now on, this is how things would be. There was nothing that they could do about it. His father protested of course, but by this time, that was really all he could do. Ranma had been consistently beating Genma for three years now.  
  
For the rest of the week, his day's formed into a pattern.  
  
Martial art's practice before breakfast and after dinner, Basketball practice from the end of school until dinner. Come Friday morning He could perform a basic dribble flawlessly, whether he was running, walking, standing in place, or flipping in the air, he could do it without error. Happy with these results, Ranma arrived at the gym that afternoon eager to see the game between the two other schools.  
  
Kenji was waiting for him by the entrance, "Good, you're here early, that gives us an hour to get to the game."  
  
He turned towards the gym entrance then and called out, "Akira, Ranma just arrived, lets go"  
  
Kenji turned back to face Ranma again, "Akira decided to come along with us, Ryonan has a player named Sendoh that Akira wants to watch, he's pretty good, but there are better players, Kainan's Maki for instance."  
  
Akira wouldn't let that stand, he dashes out the door and gets right up in Kenji's face, "That's not true, Maki is nowhere near as good as Sendoh!"  
  
Ranma tuned the rest of the argument out, only listening long enough to learn that the teams they were going to see were indeed Kainen and Ryonan. Two of the top seeds both boasting number one players for the district, apparently the centre for Ryonan was the tallest in the league, and had solid ball skills to boot.

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During the one hour train journey both Akira and Kenji were constantly talking about the two teams set to play tonight, their strengths, weaknesses, how they had faired in the season so far, and who they most admired from each team. From their descriptions Ranma was beginning to get excited at the prospect of seeing these two teams play. He had always learned best by example, and by the sounds of it, after tonight he should have plenty of new manoeuvres to practice and eventually refine.  
  
He had expected to be going to just another gym at a high school similar to Furinkan, that is a hall primarily for school assembly with a basketball court conveniently marked in the centre of the theatre.  
  
Boy was he wrong!  
  
Today's game was being played at Ryonan High school, said to be the number 4 team in the prefecture, also home to the number one freshman ace, Sendoh Akira. Admired by the whole team who believe that no matter what, Sendoh will bring victory to them. The school had a gym exclusively for basketball with multi level grandstands on both sides of the court.  
  
The place was packed well before game time, and looking around Ranma could not help but think about what it would be like to play in front of so many people. It was a good source of determination for improvement.  
  
Suddenly brought out of his thoughts, he hears the signal for the start of the game.

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The game is intense from the very beginning; some of the ball handling and passing from Sendoh is magical. And the occasional dunk from each team open's a slew of new possibilities, it is also becomes clear to him that basketball requires a high level of skill and concentration, as it requires you to do a lot of things at once. Keep track of surrounding players, plan your attack, keep control of the ball, and know the strategy of the team. All these things are required.  
  
Ranma can also see that while Sendoh may be the best player for Ryonan and they rely on him, He couldn't do what he does without the support of his team-mates. Basketball is very much a team game. By halftime he thought he could see the requisite skills that made a good ball team. Consistent shooting ability, in both long and short range, supporting play by the team-ates, rebounds, both offensive and defensive. As far as physical traits required for all this, speed, stamina and strength by far stood out.  
  
From watching the game it became clear that while his edge in speed over the competing players wasn't that great, his stamina was miles above. He had no doubt that he could play the whole game at full intensity and only break a light sweat. He came to the decision that as his team-mates trained him in the basketball skills he would train them in both speed and stamina drills, and if any were interested would even teach them some anything goes.  
  
If their team had the ability to constantly play at 100% they would have a huge advantage over the others. Similarly with rebounds, lay-ups & dunks the jumping ability provided through his training gave him a huge advantage. That would take a ridiculous amount of time to teach, however he though he could get the lot of them to match the height of Sendoh's jumps by the time the next year rolls around.  
  
By halftime Ranma thought he had the measure of the majority of moves each player was using, though the tactics of the teams as a unit still eluded him. From that time he just enjoyed the game and found that as Akira and Kenji had told him he did appreciate the game, it was something else, being surrounded by so many people, all fascinated by what was occurring down on the centre court, he had never felt so alive, besides when he perfected a new kata or move in the art. In the end, the score was 92 to 89, Kainen over Ryonan. However, it was clear that Sendoh was the best player on the court, especially when he turned up the tempo during the last quarter of the game. Ranma couldn't help but think what he would be like if he had the stamina to play that way start to finish.  
  
On the way home he had the thought to ask Kenji whether they had anything comparable to a training manual from the martial arts. Suiting actions to words, he asked, and found that there were indeed training manuals, and that he was welcome to borrow them. He also asked about the clothes that all of the players seemed to wear. To this query they just told him not to worry, they would get some money from the club and go with him into town to get a set for him after practice on Monday. Happy with this, they continued their discussion of the game and upon arriving back in Nerima said goodbye and left. He found he liked the feeling of having friends; he had never really had that in his life before.

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Turned out that Genma decided that since he was wasting time away from training during the week, from that point on, they would train all weekend twice as hard to make up for lost time. Really not caring at this point, Ranma just went through with it. It's not like Genma could teach him anything new. On the other hand, his father was the only person of comparable skill that he had met so far in Nerima, so beggars couldn't be choosers, eh?  
  
Should've known, his father was tired by midday -more like to lazy to continue-, so after lunch Ranma grabbed his basketball and headed out to the court near Tofu's. He was surprised to find that there were quite a few people there, as he had yet to see anyone in the previous days.  
  
No matter, this just gave him more incentive. He had an audience!  
  
He decided that now his dribbling was okay, he should work on his jump shot. Taking his place at the free throw line, he tried to remember the shooting action of Sendoh. After a disastrous first few attempts he found that though the ball was arcing correctly it either went to far or over toward one side. Puzzling through this he decided it had to be from his shooting action.  
  
His ball doesn't seem to have any backspin after he takes a shot, curious. Watching the others on the court he saw that as they released the ball at the apex of their jump shot's, they snapped their wrists. Giving it a try, he performs the action.  
  
Success!  
  
Continuing this for the next hour it seems he has about a one in ten chance of getting a basket from the free throw line. Next he began to change position around the key, he practiced the shot at the various distances until he had comparable skill from every position. Looking around, he noticed it was almost dark, a bit shocked that so much time had gone by he took to the roofs, and arrived home just in time for dinner.  
  
When he came in no one so much as asked him how his day had been, Akane just glared at him. He received a smirk from Nabiki, and Kasumi with her usual indifference just informed him that dinner was ready and to take a seat at the table. Not really paying attention to those around him he ate his dinner in silence and then went up to his room. He fell asleep once again thinking over all the manoeuvres he had seen at the match on Friday.

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Sunday proved much the same as Saturday with half the day spent on martial arts and half on basketball. By the end of the day his accuracy had improved to about one out of eight, not bad if he says so himself. Satisfied with this he headed home and decided to watch some television, flicking the set on he changed the channels until he found an American basketball league match, something he hadn't seen in years. The teams involved were Chicago and Orlando. Watching this was even more intense than the game over at Ryonan, however, it seemed to loose something with you not being there in the thick of it. Oh well, you take what you can get. After another quiet dinner he went to bed early that night.  
  
After the usual morning routine he was off to school once again. Ranma did not bother to wait for one of the others, he could do without being yelled at the whole way to Furinkan, thank you very much. Jumping up on the fence, he starts running towards Furinkan, wondering how things would turn out that week.  
  
Once in class, to keep his mind off the glaring Akane, he began to listen to his teachers, he found that while rather boring, it certainly kept him occupied, and surprisingly, he didn't get in trouble all day!!  
  
Bonus!  
  
Happy with this, he jumped out the classroom window and rushed over to the gym after school eager to try some of the manoeuvres he saw on Friday night. Changing into a spare pair of Daisuke's shoes he decides to practice the move where they jump up next to the hoop and place the ball in the hoop. After a short warm-up, he dribbles the ball up to the free throw line and jumped, right over the hoop. This drew a lot of snickers from the rest of the team.  
  
Heh, new problem, now he's gotta practice jumping from different lengths and at different heights, all being precisely judged to place him near the basket. With around a half hour of training left he was happy that he had the jumping down, through using a combination of trial and error, and use of the ability to judge distance he got from his shooting. Deciding to bring up his thoughts from the match on Friday, he calls everyone over.  
  
Thinking for a moment he begins, "As you all know Kenji, Akira and I went to the game on Friday night over at Ryonan. I noticed that the players tired out very quickly and couldn't understand why, as due to my training I could play all day long at full intensity and not really notice it. The point being that I would like to know if you guys would like me to teach you some anything goes, with focus on endurance and speed drills. This would allow us to play a game start to finish no worries, something we really require with only six members. I'll tell you now not to expect immediate results, as that's not how it works. Anyway, what do you think?"  
  
They all agreed and it was decided that from now on the second half of the group meetings would be spent on martial arts training. Happy with the decision they all hit the showers to get cleaned off.  
  
From there, they all made their way over to the business district, to a sporting goods store. In the basketball section they all start to show him the various outfits available. After much mucking around, he decided he didn't really feel like wearing the uniform of another team, as he wanted to make their own team strong. He ended up getting four sets of Nike basketball uniforms. That is shorts, shirts, track pants, jackets, and socks. Finding them surprisingly comfortable, and much less restricting than his current clothing he decided that that he'd wear these from now on, it's not like anyone would even notice.  
  
Each one of them having bought something, they then went downtown and got something to eat. Then they just hung around for a while talking about the upcoming game's in the regional tournament and what they thought of each team in the competition. During this time, they decided that they would all go to the next game, Shohoku verses Ryonan as it would give them a chance to see two of the best centres in the competition, Akagi and Uozumi.  
  
Happy with the afternoon, and not really feeling like dinner, Ranma made his way home and went to sleep. Little did he know that in just a few days his life was going to take a rather dramatic turn.

--------------------To be continued.

----Please review.


	2. Chapter 02

Tensai

A Ranma One Half & Slam Dunk Crossover Story  
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma, nor do I own Slam Dunk.  
This story takes place at the beginning of the Ranma manga and the year before the slam dunk manga.

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--------------------Chapter 02

Expecting the routine boot to the face greeting for a Saturday morning, Ranma was surprised when it never came. He was a bit shocked by this, as he was certain that it was one of his father's greatest pleasures in life. Nevertheless, he went for a quick bath and then put on a set of his new clothes. Black shorts, a red and white air Jordan shirt, and his new shoes, a pair of Nike air. Happy with this, he set about finding out the cause of this deviation from routine, not that he was complaining.  
  
Once downstairs he was greeted with the usual faces, there appeared to be an addition however, a familiar looking boy with a spotted bandanna upon his brow. Curious about this new addition Ranma turned to his father and asked 'Who the hell is this, and why didn't you get me up for training this morning'.  
  
Seemingly ignoring the question, Genma growls, "Foolish boy, since you seem to care so little for the Tendo clan and our art, and spend so much time slacking off, I have decided that you are no longer my heir. In case you don't remember, this is Ryoga; he arrived at Furinkan last Wednesday, seeking to challenge you. The challenge never occurred. Why is that?, any heir of the anything goes would have stepped up to the plate and met that challenge. As it seems that you are incapable of such a feat, I have now acquired an heir that is".  
  
Snarling, Ranma replies, "So that's how it is eh, fine by me, it's not like you have anything more to teach me anyhow, I could beat you hands down from the age of twelve. Also, since I am no longer your precious heir, it is not my responsibility to unite the schools, that particular duty now falls to Ryoga", turning towards him Ranma says, "Good luck, heh, you'll need it", turns around and disappears from the room altogether, utterly disgusted with the entire affair.  
  
As he made his way to the guest room he could hear his father going on about having such a worthless son, and that the school would be much better off without him. Grabbing his stuff he went back down to the living room and informed the lot of them in no uncertain terms just what he thought of them.  
  
Namely Soun being absolutely pathetic, he was not even enough of a man to provide for his family. Akane, a psychotic bitch with delusions of grandeur. Nabiki, a cold manipulating piece of crap, and Kasumi, a mindless little drone. As for Genma and Ryoga he just beat the snot out of them. This being done he announced that as the Tendos had broken the pact, he would now leave with no loss of honour, as if any of them ever had any.  
  
Informing them that there was nothing they could do, he made his way over to the clinic to ask Dr. Tofu where the nearest police station was. Around two hours later he found himself standing in front of a sprawling house twice the size of the Tendo training hall, it was located on the outskirts of Nerima, and by the looks of things, backed onto a mid sized mountain.  
  
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Approaching the front door, he rang the bell.  
  
After around a five-minute wait the door opened, and he was greeted by the sight of an elegant middle-aged woman in a navy blue, flower print kimono. The minute he saw her he knew who she was, it was his mother, Nodoka. Seconds after, he saw the light of recognition enter her eyes also, and he simply said, "Mother, I'm home".  
  
With this soft greeting, she started weeping and told of how she had been certain that the two of them had died, as after the first three years of the trip, she had never received any communication from the two of them. Still hugging him tightly she went on to tell him that she had remarried six years ago, and had sold most of her belongings from the period of her life as Saotome Nodoka. Around a year after that she had met her new husband, Oda Mito, and his son Yohei who had lost his wife a number of years ago. Finding in each other a kindred soul, a year later they had been married. Two years after this event their first child, Yohko, had been born.  
  
Overwhelmed from the unexpected event of her sons return, she asked him to tell her everything. Only to happy to oblige his mother, he began the sad tale. Cat fist, going without food, stealing, lying, the whole nine yards, he finished with the events that had occurred that very afternoon. Tired from the days events, as he was always more comfortable with actions than words, he had fallen asleep just as he ended the tale.  
  
Horrified by his tale, his mother couldn't help but sit there mortified for the next few minutes. Seeing how worn out her son had become, she attempted to pick him up and take him to one of the guest bedrooms. Attempted being the key word here, he was much heavier than he looked. So after a moment of thought she placed one of the spare futons on the ground and rolled the boy gently onto it. This done she settled down to wait.  
  
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Ranma awoke to a pair of hushed voices not far to his right, he was still a little disoriented, so his body acted automatically. He flipped up into a ready stance, after quickly scanning the area; he saw his mother and a young auburn haired girl, both wearing near identical looks of surprise on their face. Relieved beyond words by this, he scratched the back of his head, a habit he was trying to break, "Heh heh, sorry about that mom, its just that I'm used to constant attacks by Genma".  
  
Then, looking towards the little girl he says "Hello, I'm Ranma" the little girl perks up at this and blurts out 'Really, your Ranma, my older brother". Hardly able to contain her excitement the little sprite rushes over to him and gives him a big hug.  
  
"Now Yohko, let your brother go, he has had a rough time" Nodoka chides.  
  
"Ok." Yohko chirps, and releases her hug, only to proceed to sit down in Ranmas lap.  
  
Both Ranma and Nodoka laugh at her actions, but then get back to the business of catching up. They spent the next while talking about each other's lives, when suddenly Ranma thought to ask about his new brother, Yohei. To this enquiry, his mother told him that Yohei was rarely at home, the only time they saw the boy was breakfast and dinner, he was a year younger than Ranma, and occasionally got into trouble at school.  
  
Comfortable with her sons presence now, his mother took him for a tour through the property, there was no dojo, however there was a large back yard, and as he had suspected, it backed onto the mountain, which contained a large number of tall trees, all in all not a bad place to train.  
  
Once the tour was over Ranma decided to ask his mother for details on the anything goes grandmaster, someone Genma had always refused to speak of. He was now Ranmas only option for further advancement in anything goes. Only to happy to help her son, Nodoka told him that the last thing she heard about the man was that Genma and his training partner had buried him in a mountainside cave a few miles outside of Hokkaido.  
  
Ranma was determined to continue with his training, so he told his mother that he would be leaving to find the man the next morning, he would return soon however, if he did not find him within three days to be exact.  
  
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He caught the early train the next day, this allowed him to arrive in Hokkaido at eight in morning. After a few short moments of thought, he decided that the best plan would be to ask some of the locals for info. Around three hours later, after many dead end enquiries, he hit the jackpot. Apparently, there was a strange ward covered boulder on a hill around three miles to the west, it was easy to find as it could be seen from the main road out of town.  
  
As this was the only likely point he had come across so far, he got the man to draw a map, just to be sure, and set off at a quick pace. Sure enough, upon arrival, he was greeted with the site of a huge bolder surrounded with intricate Shinto wards. It was on the side of a hill in the middle of nowhere.  
  
Not one to waste time, Ranma sent a quick reverse spin kick into the boulder, splitting the thing straight down the middle. He entered the revealed cave not really knowing what to expect, so was not surprised when he found an wizened old man in a seemingly trance like state.  
  
He was very short, no more than an inch above 3ft tall, yet, the figure had a presence that you would not believe, it bordered on the physical. The closer he approached to the figure, the more the presence increased, until, when he was but a meter away from him, without warning, his whole body was paralysed and the man was on his feet.  
  
"Your Genma Saotomes son aren't you", the man demanded.  
  
Not really surprised by the incredibly rapid actions, Ranma replied in the affirmative and then proceeded to tell him about the events of the last few days. The old man took a moment to examine Ranma's story, then replied.  
  
"Not to worry son, I'll be happy to be your new sensei, it would be perfect revenge on those two fools that buried me here". That settled, the two made there way back into the city, both detailing to the other how they came to be in their current predicaments.  
  
Happosai found the part about him no longer being the schools heir hilarious. He then proceeded to tell Ranma that the Saotome and Tendo schools were not really schools at all, they were merely facets of his anything goes school. The so called Saotome School was made up of the forms that focused on speed and Arial combat, and the Tendo School was that which focused on power and hand based manoeuvres. Both encompassed merely a fraction of the true forms of anything goes.  
  
Neither taught the higher ki-abilities, they both merely detailed methods of building the reserves naturally available to the body. When asked about his supposed abnormal behaviour, he just pointed back towards the cave and said "It didn't get me very much did it, besides I could not absorb the excess chi from woman while in the cave, so I had to begin absorbing the chi from the environment, the chi I absorbed from women is what made me act as I did, since the chi was female, it sent mine out of whack and caused me to act strangely. The environmental chi though is neutral; it has no real effects on my conscious state, it is among the first things I will teach you. Now, what was that you were telling me about you playing some game, basketball I think it was, no game I have ever heard of."  
  
Ranma then told the old master about basketball, he became a little interested he could tell, and when it was mentioned that Furinken High did not have a coach for their team, he said that he could fill the position, in this way he could work on basketball and martial arts at the same time. But first, he needed to learn all about the game, and see if the school would hire him. The train ride back to Nerima continued in much the same vein, and by the time they arrived, Happosai had about an equal understanding of the sport of basketball as Ranma did, unsatisfied with this he said that they would have to go to the next game, to see the described information in action.

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It was about 7pm that night when they arrived outside his mother's house; the trip had only taken one day. As Ranma made his way to the door, Happosai stopped him, and said not to trouble his mother for lodgings; he had decided to torment Soun and Genma, so he would be staying at the dojo. As it was his decision, Ranma gave Happosai directions to the school auditorium and told the diminutive man to meet him there tomorrow after school. Happosai seemed satisfied with this, as he bounded up into the air and out of sight. With his future in martial arts secure, Ranma announced his return.  
  
He was introduced to his new father and brother in law inside, his father in law seemed like a very nice person, he genuinely seemed to want to get to know him. Yohei on the other hand, was a different story. He was about four inches taller than Ranma, and when he saw this, seemed to instantly dismiss him, some type of street fighter then. Ranma had dealt with the type before, they only understood a beating. It did not really bother him, hopefully the two of them could work something out, but if his mother's description of Yoheis activities was correct, there was little chance of that.  
  
Introductions done, Ranma proceeded to tell his mother of how his day had gone. When she heard that he had let Happosai out she got this angry expression on her face, his explanation quickly turned that look into a baffled expression when she heard that Happosai wasn't like that any more. Explanation finished, Nodoka informed him that she would like to see for herself, and told Ranma to invite the old master around for dinner the next night.  
  
A little uncomfortable with the assessing looks his father in law was giving him, Ranma then asked to be shown to his room. Little Yohko was quick to take him up on the offer, grabbing him by the hand and dragging the boy the whole way.  
  
Finally alone, he couldn't help but wonder what the future would now bring, in both the martial arts and basketball, either way, the future looked bright.  
  
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Life however, had other ideas, the moment Ranma walked into his homeroom the next day, he knew that his school life just went straight to hell, as their was a new addition to the motley ranks, none other than Ryoga, the smug fool with no idea of what he had gotten himself into, heir of the school heh, heir of nothing more like it.  
  
It seemed Ryoga's sole goal in life was to annoy Ranma, the minute he so much as looked in his direction, Ryoga started growling.  
  
Growling!.  
  
Deciding not to bother with the fool, as the longer he looked at the ridiculous sight the more he felt like laughing, Ranma concentrated on the morning lessons. While slightly boring they kept him occupied and temporarily allowed him to forget the presence of people like Ryoga and Akane.  
  
By the time lunch rolled around, Ryoga seemed to have worked himself into a state of rage, not that it took much effort on his part, and soon began informing every one of his new status, and Ranmas apparent uselessness.  
  
Well, if that's how he wanted it to go.  
  
How the dim-witted idiot expected to be able to best him just because he was named heir Ranma did not know. He eventually decided not to bother, as it was inevitable that Ryoga would make a challenge, and then lose miserably. Ranma instead went to meet with the rest of the guys in the auditorium, now was as good a time as any to tell them about his little adventurous outing over the weekend.  
  
Once inside the building, he could see that the group had started a game of one on one, the current participants being Jin and Akira. Even though they both had a similar build, their personal playing styles were completely different.  
  
Jin concentrated his game mainly under the net, relying on the lay-up and slam-dunks.  
  
Akira was more of a ranged player, though for some strange reason he got more of his three pointers in than standard two-point jump shots, deciding his news could wait for a while, Ranma settled down to watch, and was promptly informed he was playing the winner.  
  
That sounded interesting, both of them were at least 4-inches taller than him so jump shots would be the most difficult. It should be a simple matter to make his way around either of them with his speed advantage for a shot from under the net.  
  
In the end, Jin was a clear winner, as Akira just did not have a good enough shooting percentage to keep up with Jins power plays. As he walks by Akira calls out "C'mon Ranma, your up, time to shine." As Jin was the games current champion, Ranma got the honour of first possession of the ball. From the start he could see that Jin expected him just to charge in recklessly for the easy shot, he decided to try it, as he needed to test out his game.  
  
Pouring on the speed, Ranma tried for a quick break down the side, making it around his side he went for the shot, only to find the ball was gone???  
  
What the hell? it was impossible, there was no possible way that Jin could have kept up with that speed. Not having time to figure it out at the moment, Ranma quickly set himself to be ready for Jin's attack.  
  
He was going for a dunk, he just knew it, and so bringing his body into position under the net, Ranma crouched in preparation for a block. As he expected, Jin came charging in, it was going to be a power play, so jumping the moment he heard Jins shoes leave the floor, he grabbed the ball from Jin on his way up. Yet, upon landing, Kenji called a defensive foul. Confused, he tried to remember what that was. Ah yes, he can't make contact with the offensive player if he is in possession of the ball and making a shot.  
  
As this was one on one, a foul was a conceded point. Returning the ball to his opponent, he decided that it was time for payback, the moment he brought the ball into play Ranma was off like a shot, on the balls second contact with the smooth floor of the court, Ranma had stolen possession, and two seconds after that he turned around for the shot. Remembering his practice games, he got in the correct position for the shot, and was just releasing the ball when he could here the others start to call out. Before he knew it he turned around to find Jin in the air on course for his shot, once reached he knocked it out of bounds. The rest of them were now calling out "Face." or "Get that ball outa here." But he could tell that they were just mucking around.  
  
Still in possession, Ranma now made sure to keep track of Jin's movements. Deciding to apply his martial arts he faked a shot, and Jin jumped. Now in the clear Ranma sped into the basket and made a spectacular reverse dunk. When he landed he turned around only to see everyone with ridiculously surprised looks on their faces. Only to jump up and start shouting.  
  
Kenji - "Impossible, we haven't shown him how to fake, and that was one of the best I've seen to date".  
  
Akira - "What the hell was that".  
  
Kyo was just sitting there laughing his ass off, revenge was sweet!!  
  
Leaving them to there fun, he checked his watch. Seeing there was only ten minutes left for lunch, he got serious, and told them about Happosai.  
  
He was the grandmaster of the anything goes style, while having no real basketball experience, in terms of conditioning and strategy nobody could compare. He then organized the lot of them to meet straight after school, as they would all need to go and see the vice-principle to get Happosai instated as coach. Satisfied that the afternoon's events were well planned, Ranma said his goodbyes, and made his way back to class.

--------------------To be continued.

----Please review.


	3. Chapter 03

Tensai

A Ranma One Half & Slam Dunk Crossover Story  
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma, nor do I own Slam Dunk.  
This story takes place at the beginning of the Ranma manga and the year before the slam dunk manga.

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--------------------Chapter 03

Ranma found it difficult to concentrate on schoolwork that afternoon. He was uncertain if they would be successful in their bid to get Happosai instated as coach. Yet, the more he thought about the matter, the more certain he grew that it was a definite possibility. Furinkan high had a less than stellar record in the sport, it was doubtful at best that any experienced coach would wish to join their program.  
  
Basketball was one of the most popular sports in Japan for high school students; a team that made it to the national competition would gain a lot of prestige. One just had to look at high schools such as Kainan and Shoyo to see the truth in this.  
  
Happosai was an ideal candidate, his ability to bring the team members to peak physical condition was even better than the best basketball coach. The technical aspect of the game could be worked on over the year that was available; there were no disadvantages for Furinkan in the deal.  
  
Occupied by these thoughts, it was not long before Ranma heard the bell signalling the end of school for that day. After a short altercation with Akane and Ryoga, which consisted of the two of them shouting obscenities, and him blatantly ignoring both of them, que bestial state, Ranma made his way to meet Happosai and the others. Sure enough, when he arrived outside the gymnasium a few minutes later, Happosai sat perched before the entrance, waiting for his new student to arrive.  
  
Ranma came to a stop before the man. "Glad to see you made it Happosai, the others should all arrive soon."  
  
Sure enough, the rest of the team arrived not long after, and introductions were made. It was rather funny actually, Ranma did not think that any of them had ever seen someone as short as Happosai, a few of them even seemed to be struggling to hold in laughter. Jin clearly couldn't help himself; he just stood their staring, well for about ten seconds anyway. He was soon flying through the air courtesy of Happosai, who did not appreciate such behaviour. Though with a few hiccups, everything for the most part went smoothly, and the group made their way up to administration.  
  
The vice-principle, Mr. Yawara, was not as opposed to the idea of hiring Happosai as Ranma had first thought. His reasoning even made sense, the current gym teachers were always complaining about overwork. There were only two staff members on Furinkans sporting program, one male and one female. These two had to cater to the needs of over 30 clubs, a task they found nigh impossible. If the basketball team had a coach of their own then that would lighten their workload.  
  
Happy with this outcome, the group returned to the gym for their first training session under their new coach, or so they thought.  
  
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Once the group had congregated in the gym, Happosai got them all to take a seat; he had something that he needed to explain. "As you may already know, I have no prior experience with basketball. What I do have however, is over two hundred and eighty years worth of martial arts experience. Stamina, speed, strength, agility, all of these are just a few of the things that I can train you to proficiency in. The other side of the game, things such as tactics, we will have to acquire through research and experience. Also, as Ranma has already explained, I am willing to take you on as students of anything goes. It will take a lot of hard work and dedication, but the results will speak for themselves. Are there any questions?"  
  
They seemed to dwell on that for a while, taking the time to discuss the possibilities. Finally, Kenji spoke up. "In regards to experience, there is an ametuer basketball league that runs here in Tokyo. It costs $100 for a team to join, and runs over the course of 8 months. Each ward has it's own league, with the winner and runner up of each ward going on to play in the greater Tokyo championship. We could register for that, we need to be quick though, the registration deadline is Friday next week."  
  
The rest of the guys agreed, even though they all knew that it would be extreme. The tournament was open for teams of all ages, and the skill level was very high. Most of Japans professional players joined this tournament after they retired.  
  
Happosai thought on this for a time. "That sounds like a good idea Kenji. Take some money from the club fund and register our team."  
  
Happosai and Kenji went through the details of the registration then. It seemed that Kenjis father had a minor sponsorship deal with the organisers of the mentioned tournament, this was the reason he had known of its existence. Finally, satisfied that the matter was resolved, Happosai turned back to the rest of them. "Ok, today I would like you guys to go through your normal routine. This will allow me to see what I have to work with. Ranma, I want you to go through all of the Saotome school katas that you know. Begin."  
  
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Happosai spent the time to watch each of the five older boys individually. They were by no means spectacular, not even good really, they all had potential though. Their height however, was their greatest asset. In a year he would be able to train the lot to jump high enough to touch the top edge of the backboard. Their speed would also dramatically improve, though none of them would be a match for Ranma.  
  
Another area he would concentrate on was awareness. To an extent, Ranma had this ability already, yet it was very stunted. Genma seemed to have warped it so that it only worked for direct attacks. The true purpose was to provide an accurate assessment of all things happening in the surrounding area. It was good that he had at least a fortnight before the group's first game; it allowed him to begin their conditioning. It also provided him with the time to watch players that were already fully trained; this would give him an idea of how to tailor the skills each player would use.  
  
After the normal two-hour session, Kenji motioned them to stop. "That's it for today guys."  
  
Happosai noticed that they were finished for the day, so he made his way over to stand beside Kenji. "I will see the rest of you again tomorrow, make sure to get a lot of sleep tonight, you'll need it. Tomorrow, the real training begins."  
  
Turning to Ranma on his way past, Happosai continued, "Ranma, can you stay behind, I need to talk to you personally"  
  
Ranma replies quickly, "Sure Happosai, that's no problem, there is just one thing I need to say. Mom would like you to come over for dinner tonight, I think that she would like to have a talk with you about both the past and your plans for the future."  
  
His answer was instant, "That's fine Ranma, I would be happy to accept your mothers generous offer, there is quite a lot of bad blood between us, and it will give me the opportunity to apologise. Anyway, that aside, there is another matter I would like to bring to your attention. Earlier, I had you go through all of your katas, during this, I noticed something fairly strange. Tell me, did you perform every kata of the anything goes style that Genma taught you"  
  
Confused now, he replied. "Sure, why what's wrong?"  
  
Happosai did not look pleased, "Genma has left out a whole section of the Saotome school from your training, specifically the countermeasures that I devised to neutralise all of the attack kata."  
  
Ranma was really pissed, but he wasn't surprised, that sounded exactly like something that Genma would do. It ensured he had some form of leverage over Ranma when in a fight, he was glad to be rid of the dishonourable coward. It was something he had to work on immediately though, Genma was sure to teach Ryoga every one.  
  
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With this settled, Happosai took an old wooden pipe out of his gi pocket, something that Ranma had seen the man use on two separate occasions now. Expecting him to take some tobacco out also, he was surprised when, instead, he held it out to Ranma. "Here, take a hold of this pipe and tell me, what would you say this was made from. Wood, metal?"  
  
Ranma took the pipe from the old man, and made sure to examine it carefully. As far as he could tell, the pipe was constructed out of plain old ordinary wood. Strangely enough though, the minute his fingers closed around the wood, his danger sense exploded.  
  
Happosai noted his reaction and took back the pipe, "Impressive, I see that you noticed that the pipe was anything but ordinary. Both Genma and Soun never even suspected it was anything other than a pipe. Now, watch carefully"  
  
With these words, the pipe suddenly morphed into a huge sphere of luminescent white energy. Its diameter was easily three metres.  
  
Three metres!!!!  
  
Ranma found himself abruptly short of breath, the overwhelming power coming from the sphere was terrifying. He couldn't breathe!!  


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Happosai noticed this and was quick to act, the ball of energy was suddenly reformed into the pipe. "As you have just seen, my pipe is actually a construct made from ki energy. This ability requires a high level of finesse, a constant supply of energy must be maintained or it will explode. You can use a small or large amount, it does not matter, you increase the limit over time. The purpose is concentration and control. It is through this technique that a student of anything goes martial arts refines and builds their higher ki abilities."  
  
He stares intensely at Ranma now, seemingly weighing something that only he could see. "First, you will need to learn how to project your ki energy outside of your body. From my examination earlier, I can tell that you definitely have enough ki to begin the training. Questions?"  
  
Ranma thought on this new information for a moment, "Not really, however I am excited to finally learn about ki, it was a subject that my father always avoided for some reason. When do we start?"  
  
Happosais response was immediate, "Now."  
  
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Over the next two hours Happosai coached Ranma in meditation so that he could completely centre himself, once this state was achieved Ranma could begin to feel a store of energy with himself, it was a strange sensation, but not unpleasant. He was instructed to channel as much of the energy as possible to the top of his right index finger. It was surprisingly difficult. After around seven attempts, all unsuccessful, he finally achieved a flickering sphere about the size of a ten yen coin. The problem was it only stayed solid for around ten seconds.  
  
What followed was an extremely tiring afternoon, the purpose of which was to extend the time he was able to keep the ball solid. By the end of the second hour he had achieved a grand total of two minutes. It was extremely tiring, and by the end of it he had a splitting headache. Nevertheless, he was satisfied, he could actually channel his ki! A feat he had not truly believed possible only a few short days ago. This opened up a whole slew of possibilities!  
  
Calming down though, he remembered his mothers request from the night before, they needed to leave or they would be late. "Thanks for the lesson Happosai, I learnt a lot. We have to clean up though if we are to make it on time."  
  
Happosai nods at this, "That's alright boy, it was my pleasure, certainly, you are a far better student than Genma or Soun ever were. Of course, I was a different person back then."  
  
He made his goodbye here, said that he would return in twenty minutes, time enough to freshen up and get changed. Ranma went through to the locker room to do the same. Soon enough the pair found themselves before the gates of the Mito compound.

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Yohko was delighted, Happosai was around the same size as her, she thought it was marvellous. She insisted on sitting next to him at the table, with Ranma on her other side of course. Nodoka didn't like this, but she could never deny her only daughter.  
  
Yohei seemed thoroughly disinterested in the whole affair, he just ate dinner and left. Any attempt the others made to make polite conversation he just ignored, Ranma decided something had to be done.  
  
Oda had heard about Happosai from Nodoka, so he truly did not know what to expect. Certainly not what he was presented with, the man seemed almost the complete opposite from what he had previously been told.  
  
Nodoka was pleasantly surprised by the new Happosai, she commented a few times that he was like a completely different person from the man she met those long years ago. Happosai made sure to apologise for his behaviour at that time, he commented that once dinner was over perhaps the two of them could talk in private for a time.  
  
Once Yohko had been put to bed, Ranma, Nodoka, Oda and Happosai retired to the lounge room. There were certain issues that had to be addressed. Nodoka had thought over such a discussion that day, and chief among her questions was the subject of Happosais past actions, a subject that she had every right to be concerned about.  
  
What followed was an intense question and answer session with Happosai detailing exactly why he had acted the way he did. He then went on to explain, as he already had to Ranma, that his ten-year captivity had effectively purged him of the behaviour. Oda had a hard time believing this, as personally he did not believe in the mystical side of the martial arts, a quick demonstration by Happosai cleared this up however. In the end, Nodoka was satisfied that Happosai had really changed, and made it known that he would be welcome to her home at any time. Things went rather well, Oda was a bit shaken from Happosais ki abilities though.  
  
Once Nodoka and Oda were finished with their enquiries, Ranma invited Happosai to watch a game on the television with him. They eventually settled on the lakers-jazz matchup, Ranma did not get to watch much, as the minute the two sat down Happosai told him to continue with his ki exercise. From what he could see, Happosai was very absorbed in the game, often talking himself through each play he saw. Ranma found himself losing focus occasionally to, he couldn't help but take a peek at the on screen action. Finally, he turned to tell Happosai that he was leaving the room. This was a mistake. The ki ball blew up.  
  
Ouch!

--------------------To be continued.

----Please review.


	4. Chapter 04

Tensai

A Ranma One Half & Slam Dunk Crossover Story  
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma, nor do I own Slam Dunk.  
This story takes place at the beginning of the Ranma manga and the year before the slam dunk manga.

--------------------------------------------------------------  
--------------------Chapter 04

Note to self, remember to stay focussed when focussing large amounts of energy.

Groaning from his position slumped against one wall of the now wrecked room, Ranma pushed himself to his feet. Spotting Happosai still sitting upon the couch as though nothing had happened, Ranma slowly made his way across to the man.

"As you have just found out, absolute concentration is vital if you aspire to learn the higher ki abilities. If you are unable to maintain your focus no matter the circumstance then a ki attack is of as much danger to yourself as it is to your opponent."

Rising from the couch, Happosai began to summon his own battle aura. Gathering the summoned energy he let the spiritual energy was over his protege.

"However, if you can maintain that concentration, the possibilities that are open to you are endless."

Injuries gradually healing under the effects of the energy, Ranma allowed himself to take in the damage inflicted on the once prestine room.

How was he going to explain this? 

"Well I must be off now Ranma, good luck explaining the mess, I will see you tommorow."

After Happosai had bounded out the window, Ranma sensed movement from the other room. Turning toward the disturbance, he met with the worried gaze of his mother and step-father. Quickly placing his hand to the back of his head ranma chuckled nervously.

"Hey heh heh, Sorry about this."

Their response was immediate. "Explain! Now!!"  
  
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He left for school early the next morning, not wanting to deal with his still unhappy parents. Catching sight of the large form of Kenji in the distance Ranma ran to catch up. "Hey Kenji, wait up." 

Finally catching up to the boy Ranma was quick to ask. "When are you going to register for that tournament? If it is not too much trouble can I come along with you when you go. I would like to take a look at the some of the other teams. They will have a list of the teams competing in our ward right?"

Kenji was smiling at the rapid fire questions. "Sure, that'll be fine Ranma. I was going to discuss this with everyone this afternoon anyway, I will be going to register our group this afternoon."

Taking out a slip of paper from his bag, Kenji handed the sheet to Ranma. "That is the registration form for the competition, We have to fill out a number of things, some of which need to decided upon as a team. Hopefully everyone will come and eat lunch at the gymnasium as usual."

Seeing that Ranma had finished with the form, Kenji replaced it within his backpack. With nothing else to talk about the pair quietly discussed the upcoming match between Ryonan and Shouhoku as they continued on to school. Leaving Kenji by the gate, Ranma jumped up to his homeroom window on the third floor. While waiting for the teacher to arrive, Ranma thought about the registration form.

In particular, the section pertaining to the position of each player. Something that he had yet to consider, he only had a basic understanding of the roles that each position played, so he was not really prepared to decide. It was just another thing to bring up at lunch.

Brought out of his thoughts by hearing his name called. Ranma found that the teacher had arrived and was taking attendance, acknowledging his presence, Ranma took out his books and waited for the lesson to begin.

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Waiting in the gym for the rest of the guys to arrive, Ranma began to practice with summoning his ki once more. Forming a large ball at the tip of his finger, his was still unable to increase the size, but he could now maintain the phenomenon with only a modicum of effort.

It was in this position that the others found him when they arrived, some five minutes later. Sitting crossed legged in the centre of the court, index finger extended with a sphere of luminescent white light balanced above it.

"Shit! What the hell is that." Was Jin's not unexpected reaction, Daisuke and the others just muttered a quiet "Cool"

Overhearing the arrival of his teammates, Ranma dismissed the ball of ki energy, there would be time to continue with that later. Kenji got the group to congregate at the stage, Once the five other s were seated he once again took out the registration form from his pack.

"Ok you guys. I have here the registration form for the local tournament, later on I need each of you to fill in your personal details in the appropriate boxes. Turning to Ranma, Kenji asked if the boy could fill in the section about the teams coach in addition to his own.

"Right now though, we need to decide on a name for our team. It's tradition."

Looking over the group seated on the stage Kenji waited for any suggestions. He was not disappointed, in a rapid fire burst that left him bewildered, the four original team members began to belt off team names in rapid succession.

Timberwolves. Tengu. Star. One. Bullets. Kings. Wildcats. Cannons. The suggestions were never-ending.

In the end though the group decided to go with Ranma's first and only suggestion, Team Phoenix. Like a phoenix from the grave, they would rise out of the ashes of this years disappointment to obtain glory. 

With this decided he then handed the form over to Akira to fill in his own personal details. While this was being done Ranma walked over to the still standing Kenji to ask him about the significance of player positions. And the all important query as to where Kenji suggested that Ranma himself should play.   
  
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Looking up as Ranma approached him, Kenji could not help but notice the slightly nervous expression on his new friends face. "Hey Ranma, what's the matter, something that I can help you with." 

Relieved that Kenji had offered to help, Ranma decided to plunge ahead. "As a matter of fact, yes. When I was looking over the form before I noticed that it required us to list our positions. I don't have one, and at the moment do not really understand what each position entails, could you give me some idea?"

Chuckiling quietly at the question Kenji replied to the boy. "No problem. You should have asked sooner. I will get each of the guys to give you a little information about their positions and subsequently, their role in the team. As you know, I play in the center position. My position is the most physical of all five positions on the floor, I have to control the area under the net, both offensively and defensively. This means getting the rebounds and scoring against the defense of the other team, as well as ensuring that our opponent can not approach the net, all very physical activities."

Pointing to Kyo, Kenji told him to come over and tell Ranma about his own position. "Okay, I play in the power forward position, Our main role is to obtain all of the offensive and defensive rebounds. Also, we are kind of like the back up centres, should Kenji get in trouble it is up to me to fill in for him. The strength of our teams ability to fast break lies in both myself and Jin. Our physical and mental toughness must be absolute. Really, you could call the power forward the ultimate leader by example."

Kenji called over Daisuke next. "Hmmm. My position on the team is the point guard, arguably the most difficult position to play. It is my responsibility to recognise the flow of the game, both offensively and defensively, to make sure the rest of you know your roles on the court, and, above all, to create scoring opportunities for both the rest of you guys and myself. In that order."

Finally, Akira walked up to the pair. " Shooting guard is my position. As the name implies I have to be among the better shooters on the team, the most important thing being an high shooting percentage. No matter what the situation, if I take a shot, it should always go in. This is not my only role, but in reality, that summarises the position."

Once Akira had gone to sit down Kenji spoke up once more. "There is one other position that you can have, and it is one that I think you are well suited for. Small forward. The small forward should be the best one-on-one player on his team. Their primary purpose is to sniff out every opportunity to score and take it. If a fast break is initiated it is the small forward that should already be up the other end ready to convert it into points. Your speed and catlike agility make you perfect for this position. It is your choice though."

Leaving him to these thoughts, Kenji left to discuss something with Jin.

--------------------Teaser Ends. Full chapter should be out tommorow.

--------------------To be continued. 

----Please review. 


End file.
